


Night Visitor

by samariumwriting



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-22 23:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18537829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samariumwriting/pseuds/samariumwriting
Summary: It's the middle of the night, and someone knocks on Forsyth's door. The visitor is no one surprising, but the events of the evening take a different course to normal.





	Night Visitor

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick thing for the Echoes anniversary! This also doubles up with the FE compendium art challenge this week for something domestic, though in the end I'm not sure how domestic it really is. I had a ton of fun writing these two though!

The fire was starting to burn low when there was a knock on the door outside. It was dark, and it had been raining for hours now; Forsyth wondered who would even be out at this kind of time. Or if he should even open the door. It might not be safe, at this time of night.

He sat there for a few moments, and there was another knock. Sighing, Forsyth got up from the sofa and went over to the door, flicking the light on to look through the view hole in the door. Standing there, completely drenched in a light raincoat, carrying only a rucksack and a messenger bag, was Python.

Without hesitation, Forsyth opened the door. “Python!” he said. “What on earth are you doing outside at this time of night?”

“Hell if I know,” Python said. Not even waiting to be invited in, he ducked under Forsyth’s arm to stand in the hall. Saying nothing of it, Forsyth closed the door behind him and turned the outside light off. “Can I crash here tonight?”

“Of course,” he said. This had become a regular occurrence, honestly. A depressingly regular occurrence. It felt like Python was here every other night. But usually not when it was this late, nor with a bag. “Python, is everything okay?”

“As crap as it always is,” he said with a shrug. “My dad being his usual deadbeat self.”

“Why do you have bags, then?” he asked. Normally, Python leaving his house came at the end of an argument, or at the beginning of a particularly bad evening he knew he wouldn’t sleep through. He’d storm out, and then go back in the morning. The most he’d ever brought was a toothbrush, and only then because Forsyth had nagged him to. Never bags.

Python let out a heavy sigh. “Hopefully he’ll tell me I’m not welcome to come back if I pretend I’m actually leaving,” he said. He kicked off his shoes and threw his sodden coat over the end of the bannister.

“And if he says nothing?” he asked. Python didn’t answer. “You’ll catch a chill like that. The fire is about to burn down and I don’t want to revive it this late, but I’ll grab you a blanket.”

“I’ll be on the sofa,” Python said finally, disappearing into the living room. Forsyth would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried.

A few minutes later, when he went into the living room, Python was squatting by the fire. Forsyth came to sit next to him, draping the blanket over his shoulders. Python let out a grunt of thanks and stayed staring at the fire. “Do you want to leave him for good?” he asked.

“Gladly,” Python said. “But it’s too much bother. I’ve got too much shit banging around in that house. And it’s a roof over my head. We have heating and electricity most of the time. You can drink the water.”

“That’s no measure of a good household,” Forsyth said firmly. He couldn’t stand seeing Python struggle on like this. For as long as he’d known him, there had been no love between father and son. Forsyth had barely even met Python’s father, and he’d known him for over a decade now.

Python sighed again, pulling the blanket closer around his shoulders. “I know, damn it,” he said. “I don’t want to live with him. But I don’t have anywhere else to go. I can’t get work consistent enough to pay any kind of rent.”

“You can stay here,” Forsyth said immediately. He knew what Python’s response would be, of course, but he also knew that he meant what he said. He didn’t want Python to have to live with his father. He didn’t want Python to be shut out in the cold the moment things worsened even slightly.

Seeing Python like he was tonight made Forsyth realise that the man had reached his wit’s end with his father. He’d known Python for years. And never once had Python (to his knowledge) packed a bag and walked out with any semblance of never returning.

He remembered plenty of times when Python had ended up staying overnight. For almost as long as he’d known him, Python had been arranging impromptu sleepovers, much to Forsyth’s mother’s frustration. He was the bane of every worried parent, ever concerned that their child would be somehow corrupted. And Python was still here, still showing up and asking for somewhere to stay. But it had never been like this.

Python’s silence stretched on, and on. “Did something specific happen?” Forsyth asked. Sometimes Python liked to rant. Sometimes he preferred to stay silent. Today was a staying silent day, apparently, because Python just shrugged and didn’t say anything else, watching the flames start to die in front of him.

“I’m going to get you some hot chocolate,” he said eventually, getting up. Lightning fast, Python’s arm shot up and grabbed his sleeve. He still didn’t say anything, but there was no mistaking the look on his face. Forsyth sat down again, and put one arm around Python’s shoulders. “I’ll stay.”

Python grunted, and put his head on Forsyth’s shoulder. They sat in silence for a long while. Once or twice, Forsyth felt himself drifting off, but he knew he had to stay awake. Something was wrong, and Python needed time. For him to actually reach out and stop him from leaving, even momentarily…

“It just got real ugly real fast,” he said. “My dad said some things I hope he’s really ashamed of. I told him he was a deadbeat and hadn’t contributed anything to my life, which honestly I think was fair but he wasn’t a fan at all.”

Forsyth nearly chuckled, but he didn’t want to make light of something that Python was clearly so upset over. “He also blamed me for mum leaving. I just wonder. Alcoholic dad or depressed kid, who on earth could be at fault there?”

“It’s not your fault,” Forsyth said. He’d never met Python’s mother, she’d been long out of the picture by the time he knew Python, but he couldn’t help but hold a grudge against her. Why had she left him in that situation? Python had never mentioned being bitter about it himself, but he had to wonder. 

“Mmm hmm,” Python said. His eyes were lidded, and he was clearly exhausted. “I’ll decide in the morning what I’m gonna do. Too much work to try and figure things out now.”

“Fair enough,” he said, and took one look at the sofa, and then at Python, half asleep on his shoulder. “You sure you won’t be too cold down here?”

“I could sleep in your bed,” Python suggested. It was a joke, because Python always joked like this, but Forsyth only smiled in return.

“You could,” he said. Python didn’t miss a beat.

“I will, then,” he replied, stretching his arms and standing up. Forsyth missed the warmth on his shoulder almost instantly.

So they went up to bed. Together. And when morning came, they were a little closer than they’d been when they’d fallen asleep. But it wasn’t uncomfortable, and it wasn’t awkward, even though Forsyth had fully expected that.

And when morning came, Python opted to maybe stay just another night. To see if his father said anything. And then he stayed another. And another. Until sharing a bed at the end of the day became normal, and sharing an evening by the fire was just routine. When all that happened, well, Forsyth only wondered why he hadn’t acted sooner. It was as natural as breathing.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :) a comment is really appreciated if you have any thoughts on this.


End file.
